Be wary of plastics

[Guest guest]

See the following article in Nature's Science Update. I have done quite a bit

of research into chemical compounds such as those in plastics and they appear

to disrupt hormones at all levels. Be careful with plastic -- don't cook in

plastic or use plastic bottles over and over, etc. Also see: <A

HREF= " http://www.ourstolenfuture.org " >

www.ourstolenfuture.org</A> for insight into all the nasty chemicals that have

been released into our enviroment.

 

<A

HREF= " http://www.nature.com/nsu/030331/030331-2.html " >http://www.nature.com/nsu/\

030331/030331-2.html</A>

 

Plastics spoil mouse eggs

Food-packaging compound affects reproductive cell division.

1 April 2003

<A HREF= " http://www.nature.com/nsu/profiles/aboutus.html#Pearson " > HELEN

PEARSON</A>

 

BPA is used in transparent food packaging.

© Corbis

 

 

 

A chemical commonly found in plastic food containers harms growing mouse

eggs, according to a new study<A

HREF= " http://www.nature.com/nsu/030331/030331-2.html#b1 " >1</A> - fuelling the

debate over the additive's

safety.

The compound is called bisphenol A (BPA). It is widely used in see-through

bottles and for lining tin cans. Its chemical activity mimics that of the

female hormone oestrogen, so some fear that it might damage an unborn baby's

growing sex organs.

In the latest study, Patricia Hunt of Case Western Reserve University in

Cleveland, Ohio discovered unusual genetic defects in the eggs of her

laboratory mice. She traced it to their hard plastic cages, which were

leaching BPA.

Even traces - 20 parts per billion in drinking water - altered 8% of eggs,

her team found. Normally, only 1% of eggs are defective. Humans are exposed

to similar BPA levels, Hunt says, although it is not known if they have the

same effect.

In theory, such genetic flaws could cause a higher incidence of miscarriage

or of conditions such as Down's syndrome. " You're talking about transmitting

profound chromosomal damage to your baby, " says PBA researcher Frederick vom

Saal of the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Steve Hentges of the American Plastics Council in Arlington, Virginia,

counters that it is too early to condemn BPA - because the team have yet to

show whether the genetic changes actually affect the mice's ability to

reproduce. " We don't know how to interpret this yet, " he argues.

Earlier investigations hinted that exposing animals in the womb to levels of

BPA similar to those found in the environment upsets their sperm count,

prostate and testicular development. Other studies - some commissioned by the

plastics industry - have found BPA to be completely safe.

 

 

Hunt has gone a step further in showing that BPA might also harm an egg's

DNA; this damage might be inherited by offspring formed from those eggs. She

finds that BPA stops chromosomes from dividing up equally before egg cells

divide, possibly by interfering with oestrogen's normal activity.

Hunt, vom Saal and others would like to see BPA regulations tightened. Some

regulatory bodies are already reviewing the allowable levels: a European

Commission's food-safety committee, for example, last year slashed its upper

limit for daily intake fivefold.

 

The US Food and Drug Administration does not have a safety limit for BPA on

foodstuffs. " We don't have any reason to believe there's any effect, " argues

the administration's George Pauli, who is involved in regulating the safety

of plastics in food packaging. But the agency keeps tabs on new research, he

adds.

 

 

References

 

1. Hunt, P.A. et al. Bisphenol A exposure causes meiotic aneuploidy

in the female mouse. Current Biology, 13, 546 - 553, (2003).<A

HREF= " http://current-biology.com/ " > |Homepage|</A>